Plan casts wide net for zero emissions in Chicago region

A comprehensive climate action plan to achieve net-zero emissions covering 13 counties in the Chicago area is nearing completion. The plan covers the area from Kenosha County in Wisconsin to LaPorte County.

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission are working together to complete the plan before the Dec. 1 deadline.

Kathy Luther, director of environmental programs at NIRPC, briefed the agency’s Transportation Committee about progress on the plan Tuesday.

The goal is to reduce gross greenhouse gas emissions by 80% to 85% by 2050 within the greater Chicago area. Carbon sequestration is factored in when calculating net emissions.

2050 isn’t far away, but already the region has made progress toward that goal, Luther said.
In 2020, emissions were at 192.92 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, but within five years they had dropped to 154.29.

Of the 152 million metric tons emitted in the 13-county region, Indiana’s Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties account for 54.5 million metric tons, or about 35.8%, Luther said.

Transportation accounts for 26% of those emissions, with industry at 36% and buildings at 35%. Agriculture, wastewater treatment and waste management account for another 3%.

Hitting the reduction goal by 2050 means cutting emissions by another 65%, Luther said.

For the transportation sector, hitting that goal means accelerating the move toward electric vehicles, increasing fuel efficiency and adopting low-carbon fuels, reducing travel demand, increasing traffic flows, increasing transit ridership and increasing use of bicycles and other means of active transportation.

That’s easier said than done, especially given the current political climate in the Trump administration, which is seeing Biden-era policies being rolled back or reversed.

Luther said assuming the current federal policies remain in place, emissions would be reduced by 36%. With state and local actions to reduce emissions, the reduction would be 61%. Implementing every aspect of the plan now being developed would see emissions drop enough to hit the goal of an 85% reduction.

Increasing the number of electric vehicles isn’t just limited to replacing internal combustion engines on passenger cars, pickups and SUVs. It also means electrification of off-road vehicles, marine vessels and locomotives.

For commuter trains, electrification began decades ago as a way to reduce pollution in Chicago. But carrying freight requires a lot more power than carrying riders. That’s going to be a challenge for railroads.

And for off-road vehicles and marine vessels, access to recharging stations can be an issue.
California is taking aggressive steps to reduce emissions, including requiring all new light-duty vehicles sold to be either electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids by 2035. That’s driving manufacturers to meet those standards not just for vehicles intended for sale in California but also nationwide.
California is also requiring new lawn and landscaping equipment and off-road vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035.

In Illinois, the CTA plans to switch to electric buses, starting with all new buses purchased in 2026 and completing the conversion by 2040.

An Illinois law also requires 100% of school bus fleets to be electric by 2035, beginning with buses purchased in 2028 and beyond.

Chicago plans for all municipal fleets to be electric by 2035.

Among the surprises Luther offered Tuesday was that passenger vehicles are the largest source of transportation emissions, ahead of freight vehicles. The latter, while significant, is also harder to decarbonize.

Reaching all-electric for new vehicles by 2035 is critical to meeting the 2050 goal, Luther said.
For the transportation sector, the residual emissions are primarily from off-road vehicles if the plan is successful, she said.

Achieving these goals won’t be cheap.

For Gary Public Transportation Co., a large infusion of local cash would be needed to convert the fleet to electric, Planning, Marketing and Grants Planner David Wright said. Assuming prices come back down, an electric bus could cost $900,000.

Additional charging stations, including at the Lake County Government Center, would also be necessary to keep the buses running, he said.

Luther hopes to have a draft of the comprehensive climate action plan ready by late October.

Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.